The new midsize sedan Volkswagen will make in Chattanooga will share about a third of its parts with the Mexican-made Jetta, according to the automaker.
Quality and cost savings are two reasons cited by the company for the sharing of components.
Thomas Loafman, Volkswagen Group of America’s director of purchasing, said sharing about a third of the compact Jetta’s components will help the quality of the midsize sedan as the parts are already designed and perfected.
The Chattanooga vehicle “has to achieve the highest level of quality right from the start,” Loafman said. “Quality is No. 1.”
Frank Fischer, chief executive of VW’s Chattanooga operations, added that sharing parts achieves an economies of scale.